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The Iranian authorities must halt the imminent execution of Alireza Tajiki who was arrested as a child, said Amnesty International today, after learning that he was transferred to solitary confinement this morning and is due to be executed in less than 24 hours in Shirazs Adel Abad prison.

This is an utterly shameless act by the Iranian authorities

Alireza Tajiki was just 15 at the time of his arrest and 16 when he was convicted and sentenced to death. He was transferred to solitary confinement in Adel Abad prison in Shiraz, Fars Province, on 9 August. His family were told to come to prison in order to make their final visit. The authorities did not inform his legal representatives, contrary to Irans own laws, which require lawyers to be informed of their clients scheduled execution at least 48 hours in advance.

This is an utterly shameless act by the Iranian authorities. They are keenly aware that using the death penalty against someone who was under 18 years of age at the time of crime is in flagrant breach of Irans obligations under international human rights law, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, said Magdalena Mughrabi, Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.

Despite this, time and again Irans judicial authorities and lawmakers have failed to take any steps to once and for all end the use of the death penalty against juvenile offenders. The Iranian authorities must immediately halt any plans to execute Alireza Tajiki.

Alireza Tajiki, now 21 years old, was sentenced to death in April 2013 after a criminal court in Fars Province, southern Iran, convicted him of murder and lavat-e be-onf (male on male rape). The trial was grossly unfair and relied primarily on confessions which Alireza Tajiki has said where extracted through torture, including severe beatings, floggings, and suspension by arms and feet.

Both the lower court in Fars Province and the Supreme Court relied on state forensic opinions stating that Alireza Tajiki was mature at the age of 15 and thus eligible to receive the death penalty. In a subsequent response to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in October 2016, the representatives of Iran reiterated their outrageous position that Alireza Tajiki had sound intellect and understanding about unlawfulness of the committed acts and their punishment at the time of the crime when he was 15 years old and therefore could be punished with the death penalty.

The Iranian authorities must immediately halt any plans to execute Alireza Tajiki

Alireza Tajiki was first arrested in May 2012 and placed in solitary confinement for 15 days, without access to his family. He was denied access to a lawyer throughout the entire investigation process. He has said that during this period he was subjected to torture and other ill-treatment to confess to the crime. He later retracted the confessions both before the prosecution authorities and during his trial, and has since maintained his innocence consistently. However, despite this, his confession was admitted as evidence during proceedings against him.

The Iranian authorities are demonstrating once again their callous disregard for childrens rights as well as fair trial standards. This is now the third time since May 2016 that the authorities have scheduled Alireza Tajikis execution. Rather than repeatedly tormenting Alireza Tajiki with execution dates, the authorities must once and for all cancel all plans to execute him, and grant him a fair retrial in accordance with the principles of juvenile justice and without recourse to death penalty.

Iran is one of the last few countries in the world that still executes juvenile offenders. In January 2016, Amnesty International published a report which found that despite piecemeal reforms introduced by the Iranian authorities in 2013 to deflect criticism of their appalling record on executions of juvenile offenders, they have continued to condemn dozens of young people to death for crimes committed when they were below 18, in violation of their international human rights obligations.

As of August 2017, Amnesty International had identified the names of at least 89 individuals on death row who were under the age of 18 when the crime was committed.

Excerpt from:
Iran: Man arrested at just 15 is hours away from execution - Amnesty International

A delegation representing Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization (TAG-Org) agreed with the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI), Mr. Ali Mohsin Ismail Al-Alaq, means of cooperation between the two parties. The delegation headed by Mr. Ahmad Obeidat, Executive Director of the Baghdad Office, presented the various services provided by TAG-Org, particularly in the fields of []

By John Lee. Iraq reportedly bought 50,000 tonnes wheat from Australia on Sunday at $312.50 a tonne c&f free out. The tender, which closed on 31st July, was open to wheat from the United States, Canada or Australia. According to Reuters sources. wheat from the United States was offered lowest at $299.19 a tonne c&f []

This past week theInternational Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN Migration Agency, sent emergency teams from its Erbil, Iraq, mission to provide front-line non-food item (NFI) assistance to an informal settlement of internally displaced persons (IDPs). The settlers are principally nomadic herders fleeing ISILs last remaining major stronghold in Iraq: Tal Afar. Following the fall []

By Fazel Hawramy forAl-Monitor.Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views ofIran Business News. Iran and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have become entangled in a war of words as the referendum on Iraqi Kurdistans independence nears. Both sides are now making veiled threats, which if they []

U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria on Monday, conducting 35 strikes consisting of 42 engagements, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported yesterday. Officials reported details of yesterdays strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports. Strikes in Syria In Syria, []

Prime Minister Dr. Haider Al-Abadi has presided over the first meeting of the Higher Committee for Investment and Reconstruction. The Higher Committee for Investment and Reconstruction has held its first meeting under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister Dr. Haider Al-Abbadi, in the presence of all members of the Committee. Dr. Abadi stressed during the []

Hexagon Composites subsidiary Hexagon Ragasco has received a new major order for LPG cylinders from Gas Filling Company (GFC) at a total value of around USD 15 million (approximately NOK 120 million). Deliveries are scheduled to commence in fourth quarter of 2017 and continue through first quarter of 2018. With this order, Iraq is expanding []

By John Lee. Al-Iraqia Shipping Services & Oil Trading (AISSOT) has announced it will start bunkering operations at several Iraqi ports, with a focus on Basra, Khor Al-Zubair and Umm Qasr. According to a report from Ship and Bunker, the company a joint-venture company of Iraqi Oil Tankers Company (IOTC) and Arab Maritime Petroleum []

Tuesday marks the third anniversary of the U.S.-led coalition air campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, during which millions of people have been freed from ISIS control, Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said today. Briefing the Pentagon press corps, Davis said the air campaign was a response to a terrorist army []

U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria on Sunday, conducting 34 strikes consisting of 40 engagements, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported yesterday. Officials reported details of yesterdays strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports. Strikes in Syria In Syria, []

By Ahmed Tabaqchali (pictured), CIO of Asia Frontier Capital (AFC) Iraq Fund. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The equity market, as measured by the RSISUSD index was down -4.4% for the month, recovering from lows of -10.0%, on further declining turnover. []

On August 5, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) under the Government of Japan signed a loan agreement with the Government of the Republic of Iraq in Baghdad to provide a Japanese ODA loan of up to 21.556 billion yen (equivalent to approximately USD 191 million[1]) for the Hartha Thermal Power Station Rehabilitation Project (Phase []

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Iraq Business News

A court in Iraq has sentenced 27 Isis soldiers to death by hanging over their role in a massacre of up to 1,700 army recruits in 2014.

One of Isis earliest gruesome propaganda videos was of the execution-style killings at Camp Speicher in northern Iraq when the organisation launched its surprise offensive over the border from Syria in June that year.

There were between 4,000 and11,000 cadets stationed at the base near Tikrit when Isis overran it. Isis divided up their captives depending on whether they were Shia, Sunni or non-Muslim, and murdered an estimated 1,095 non-Sunni soldiers, a later inquiry by Iraqs Human Rights Ministry estimated.The true number of men still missing is not known, but estimatessuggestit could beup to 1,700 people.

Mosul after the war: Utter and total devastation

The victims were trucked to various locations, including a former palace of SaddamHussein, lined up and shot at point black range, beheaded, or choked to death.

Some bodies were disposed of in the Tigris River, and at least 12mass graves were discovered when Iraqi coalition forces managed to retake the city and surrounding area in 2015.

As well as this weeks sentencing, 36 Isis members were hanged in August 2016 after being found guilty of the same crime in a mass trial. Another 25 suspects have been released due to a lack of evidence.

The sentenced men have the right to appeal the courts decision.

The death sentences come as rights groups have expressed concern over possible abuses of men accused of being in Isis following the recapture of the city of Mosul, which effectively means the end of Isis rule in the country.

More than 5,000 men suspectedof fighting on behalf of the militants are thought to be currentlyheld in overcrowded and stiflingly hot conditions in local prisons.

Prisoners are infected with diseases, lots of health and skin problems, because theyre not exposed to the sun, one prison warden told the AP last month, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The majority cant walk. Their legs are swollen because they cant move.

For many Iraqi soldiers and civilians, there is very little sympathy for those accused of fighting with Isis.

But detainees protest their innocence and organisations such as Human Rights Watch have repeatedly accused Iraqi forces of unlawful interrogations, beatings and even executions of men and boys believed to be part of Isisthatcould amount to war crimes.

More here:
Iraq to hang 27 Isis members over role in massacre of army recruits at Camp Speicher - The Independent

Its been 12 years since Omar Hassan Majed fled Baghdad, but it sometimes feels as if he never left home.

Hustling from room to room at his oncology clinic in Amman, Jordan, he jokes with the Iraqi nursing staff and drinks tea with the resident anesthesiologist, a childhood friend. And many of his patients are Iraqis. By the time he stops for dinner at an Iraqi grillat the corner of Mosul and Basra streetshes gone hours without seeing a Jordanian.

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It sounds bizarre, I know, but there are so many Iraqi doctors here, Majed says. It makes me wonder if there are any still in Iraq.

Since the 2003 U.S. invasion, Baghdads intellectual and cultural elite has left its turbulent homeland, fleeing violence, persecution and an economy with fewer and fewer good jobs. Tens of thousands have moved to the U.S., where many have enjoyed considerable success. Over half a million othersincluding many of the countrys most educated peoplehave moved elsewhere in the Middle East. And their numbers have increased since the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) conquered up to 40 percent of the country in 2014.

ISIS has since been pushed out of most of Iraq, but many Iraqis arent returning. In countries such as Jordan, Lebanon and the Gulf states, talented Iraqi migrs continue to staff hospitals, design roads, extract oil and lecture students. And as the country continues to bound from one crisis to the next, in part due to rampant corruption and mismanagement, its most educated citizens are succeeding in their new homesand finding life in exile more and more appealing.

We needed a safe environment to work and live, and they needed skilled labor, says Ali Nawaz, a Saudi-based petroleum engineer, who skipped out of Baghdad after a death threat in 2006. Its been a good match.

This isnt the first time Iraq has been hit with a brain drain. Previous warswith Iran in the 1980s, for instancehad a similar effect, but the turmoil that followed the American invasion, and the subsequent war with ISIS, has been far more harmful in this regard. Not only is the Iraqi school system in shambles, but the recent flight of professionals has made life harder for those left behind. More than 8,000 doctors have left in recent years, contributing to grave medical shortages, according to Rudaw, a Kurdish TV network.

It is too difficult to be a successful doctor back in Iraq because of the security, because of the fear of kidnapping, says Nagham Hussein, a Baghdad-trained physician who left more than a decade ago.

There are few such fears in her new homeAmmanwhere Iraqs loss has quickly become Jordans gain.

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War in Iraq, ISIS Crisis Fuels Brain Drain, Making Life Harder for Those Left Behind - Newsweek

BASHIQA, Iraq (Reuters) - Yazidi men and boys in the town of Bashiqa north east of Mosul are rebuilding a shrine destroyed by Islamic State as they wait for the return of women from their community taken captive years ago by the jihadists.

They are hoping to celebrate their first religious festival for three years in the Malak Miran shrine next month but the big celebration will happen after the release of Yazidi women, taken by Islamic State when it overran the plain of Nineveh in 2014.

More than 3,000 Yazidis, mostly from Sinjar to the west of Bashiqa, were killed - with more than half shot, beheaded or burnt alive - and about 6,800 taken for sex slaves or fighters.

Islamic State fighters are now reportedly selling captive women and girls before they make their escape from their beseigned Syrian stronghold of Raqqa, according to the U.N.

"The real festival will come when all our captives are freed," said the shrine's supervisor, Shaker Haidar al-Mujewar.

Volunteers come every day to help with the rebuilding and they gather from time to time for prayers in the unfinished temple, clustering around candles to recite prayers in the local Kurdish dialect.

Residents and other Yazidi families are funding the reconstruction, Mujewar said.

Yazidis in Bashiqa were able to escape before Islamic State seized the town and the militants were driven out in November 2016, about a month after the start of the offensive to retake Mosul, the northern city used by the militants as their capital.

Many of Bashiqa's families are still living in camps.

Bashiqa is now under the control of the Kurdish Peshmerga fighters who helped take it back from Islamic State. The Sinjar mountain, the other main area of Yazidi settlement in Iraq, is also under Kurdish control.

The Yazidi faith combines elements from various ancient Middle Eastern beliefs. Eid Hajjin, the Yazidi festival which falls early September, celebrates Abraham, a prophet they have in common with Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

The shrine is closely associated with Abraham as Yazidi religion says it was Malak Miran, or the Angel Miran, who saved the prophet from the biblical King Nimrod's furnace of fire.

Writing by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Louise Ireland

Link:
Long wait for captive Yazidis' return spent rebuilding shrine in Iraq's Bashiqa - Reuters